“It’s automatically assumed it has something to do with stripping,” said Lizz Schofield, owner of Studio Soiree in Sugar House, which is filled with floor-to-ceiling poles. “But it’s not stripping at all.”

“I don’t take my clothes off at all. I just come for a great workout,” Andrea Bower, a mother of four, told KUTV.

Kim Walters, also a mom and another Studio Soiree member, said, “I’m an LDS house wife. It’s not a typical thing for LDS women to do.”

Proponents of “pole fitness,” as it is referred to by some, has caught on in the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom, Schofield told KUTV.

“This takes grace, fluidity and strength. It’s on par with ice skating and everything else in the Olympics,” said Lorinda Coombs, co-owner of Studio Soiree.

“We are some of the safest, most skilled athletes. I liken it a lot to rock climbing,” said Schofield.

Schofield told KUTV that pole fitness is becoming a permanent fixture in the fitness scene. “Everybody’s coming here. There’s no way to ignore it. It just keeps getting better and better”.

4 Comments on “Pole Dancing an Olympic Sport?”

I cringed when I heard about this, and not because it’s pole dancing. Pole dancing is an art form, not a sport, it does after all have the word “dance” in it. I understand that a lot of pole dancers want to get a little respect for what they do; this thing they call pole dancing is freaking intense, takes an huge amount of strength and flexibility, and if done well is has the qualities of fluidity and smoothness that make it a breathtaking visual. but if you take the dance out of it, which I think you will if it becomes an Olympic game, it’s artistry will be reduced to gymnastics.

If you’re seriously still thinking that this is some sort of joke, or haven’t been properly educated regarding the ‘sport’ of Pole Dancing as it currently stands…you should be. Especially before commenting on anything related to the issue. Pole Dancing is actually a worldwide competitive sport-for both men and women. There are governing bodies working to standardize the language, moves, levels of tricks, etc. as the sport works it’s way through the steps to become an Olympic Sport-which it inevitably will be at some point. There’s no way around that. If you’ve really tried it-you know this! Get fully educated and check out the actual step-by-step proclamation FROM the OLYMPIC COMMITTEE on how the sport will get ready for Olympic Status at the following links. Time to leave the ‘stripper’ stereotype behind people-it’s long gone!http://www.poledanceintlmagazine.comhttp://www.polefitnessassociation.comhttp://www.goddessartsacademynw.comhttp://www.ipdfa.comhttp://www.formatpixel.com/poledanceinternational (online global magazine for pole fitness)
also youtube has hundreds of vids of actual athletes and current title-holding pole champs around the world…try looking up names like “Pantera-pole Dancer’, Felix Cane, Jenyne Buttefly, World Pole Dance Championships, Miss Pole Dance, US Pole Dance Championships, IPDFA Championship, Vertical Pole Challenge (the upcoming network reality pole fitness show), Karen Chaundy (our magazine pole contest winner)-even me- Chastitie Lujan, Pole Dancer!

The Olympic Committee has endorsed a wide array of nonsense over the years. It makes no matter to me if pole dancing is a sport included in the olympics. I simply suggest that it be clothing optional and include the random lap dance.